The Urban Ashtrays

These Metrograde results cough up a smoking gun

Mar 9, 2005

Our clothes smell better these days. As smoke-free ordinances have swept the country--10 states and more than 1,800 municipalities have some smoke-free regulations--our throats also feel better, our eyes seem clearer, and our lungs are finally free of fumes.

That is, unless you live in Louisville or Detroit or Las Vegas or any of the other 13 cities that received an F in our rankings of the nation's smokiest cities. Southern cities dominate the bottom of this ash heap. But Salt Lake City, where Mormons and Marlboros don't mix, soared above them all.

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These rankings aren't just based on nice-smelling restaurants, though data from the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation helped us identify places with smoke-free laws. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United Health Foundation gave us statistics on the percentage of smokers in various locales. And the CDC provided rates of suicide by cigarette: lung-cancer deaths.

1. Salt Lake City, UT A+

2. (tie) Long Beach, CA A+

Los Angeles, CA A+

4. (tie) San Diego, CA A

Honolulu, HI A

6. San Jose, CA A

7. (tie) Riverside, CA A-

Newark, NJ A-

9. Fresno, CA A-

10. (tie) Anaheim, CA A-

New York, NY A-

12. Denver, CO A-

13. San Francisco, CA A-

14. Albuquerque, NM A-

15. Aurora, CO A-

16. Tucson, AZ B+

17. (tie) Boise, ID B+

Seattle, WA B+

19. Fremont, CA B+

20. (tie) Miami, FL B+

Colorado Springs, CO B+

22. Oakland, CA B+

23. San Antonio, TX B+

24. Modesto, CA B+

25. Boston, MA B+

26. Sacramento, CA B+

27. Yonkers, NY B+

28. Minneapolis, MN B

29. El Paso, TX B

30. Laredo, TX B

31. Madison, WI B

32. Rochester, NY B

33. Jersey City, NJ B

34. Stockton, CA B-

35. Bakersfield, CA B-

36. St. Paul, MN B-

37. Orlando, FL B-

38. Raleigh, NC B-

39. (tie) Portland, OR C+

Spokane, WA C+

41. (tie) Mesa, AZ C+

Phoenix, AZ C+

Scottsdale, AZ C+

44. Atlanta, GA C+

45. (tie) Washington, DC C+

Lubbock, TX C+

47. Houston, TX C+

48. Corpus Christi, TX C+

49. (tie) Chicago, IL C+

Charlotte, NC C+

51. Plano, TX C+

52. Dallas, TX C+

53. Buffalo, NY C

54. (tie) St. Petersburg, FL C

Austin, TX C

56. Arlington, TX C

57. Garland, TX C

58. Richmond, VA C

59. Lincoln, NE C

60. Virginia Beach, VA C

61. Grand Rapids, MI C

62. Providence, RI C

63. Baton Rouge, LA C

64. (tie) Tacoma, WA C-

Norfolk, VA C-

Milwaukee, WI C-

67. Chesapeake, VA C-

68. Wichita, KS C-

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69. Tampa, FL C-

70. Fort Wayne, IN C-

71. Fort Worth, TX C-

72. Toledo, OH C-

73. Greensboro, NC C-

74. Baltimore, MD D+

75. (tie) Omaha, NE D+

Des Moines, IA D+

77. Columbus, OH D+

78. Little Rock, AR D

79. Montgomery, AL D

80. Birmingham, AL D-

81. Durham, NC D-

82. Jacksonville, FL D-

83. Oklahoma City, OK D-

84. Tulsa, OK D-

85. Anchorage, AK D-

86. (tie) New Orleans, LA F

Pittsburgh, PA F

Akron, OH F

89. Cleveland, OH F

90. Philadelphia, PA F

91. Kansas City, MO F

92. Las Vegas, NV F

93. Memphis, TN F

94. Cincinnati, OH F

95. Detroit, MI F

96. Indianapolis, IN F

97. Nashville, TN F

98. Shreveport, LA F

99. St. Louis, MO F

100. Lexington, KY F

101. Louisville, KY F

LET'S CLEAR THE AIR

Breathe Easier Smoking bans in public places can work for both patron and proprietor, according to studies. Restaurants and bars in New York City experienced a 90 percent reduction in secondhand smoke after adopting a smoking ban. (Some people still smoked, apparently--or maybe it's the fajitas?) And a recent study of California hotels found that the smoking ban has had no effect on revenue. So when you consider that secondhand smoke increases the risks of lung cancer, asthma, and heart disease, isn't it time to push for legislation that will empty ashtrays for good?

Pass a Law Don't know how? The Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights organization, nosmoke.org, will help you draft a clean-indoor-air ordinance. And the organization will create an ad in your local paper. Get Clearing the Air: Citizen's Action Guidebook to find out how folks in other cities have already succeeded.

3 Reasons Why You Should Quit Now

QUIT NOW: Two days after you quit, nerve endings killed off by smoke start regenerating, and your ability to smell and taste is enhanced.

QUIT NOW: Within 20 minutes of that last cigarette, your blood pressure and pulse rate go down. If you can keep away from cigarettes for 24 hours, you'll automatically decrease your risk of heart attack.

QUIT NOW: After a year without cigarettes, you've cut your risk of heart disease in half. After 15 years, your risks of stroke and heart disease are similar to those of people who've never smoked, and your lung-cancer risk is cut in half.

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